Due to the increasingly fast processing power of modern-day computers, users have turned to computers to assist them in the examination and analysis of images of real-world data. For example, within the medical community, medical professionals who once examined x-rays hung on a light screen now use computers to examine images obtained via ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), ultrasonography, positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), magnetic source imaging, and other imaging techniques.
Each of the above-identified imaging procedures generates volume images, although each relies on a different technology to do so. For example, CT uses an x-ray source to rapidly rotate around a patient to obtain up to hundreds of electronically stored pictures of the patient. On the other hand, MR uses radio-frequency waves that are emitted to cause hydrogen atoms in the body's water to move and release energy, which is then detected and translated into an image. Because each of these techniques penetrates the body of a patient to obtain data, and because the body is three-dimensional, this data represents a three-dimensional image, or volume. In particular, CT and MR both provide three-dimensional (3D) “slices” of the body, which can later be electronically reassembled.
In a radiology network may contain image information and other data about a number of different patients. The information associated with each patient may include one or more scans by one or more imaging devices. After a scan is completed, imaging software is employed to create a set of images from the raw data, called a study. A study may consist of several different views or acquisitions, such as pre- and post-contrast CT scans, or T1- and T2-weighted MR views. Each view or acquisition is generally called a series, and each series includes a number of images or slices. This hierarchy of medical image data storage is pursuant to the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard.
Clinical applications or protocols built into some medical imaging software systems allow a clinician to analyze images and volumes within a study using a software application built into the medical imaging software. For example, the clinician may evaluate calcium scoring or cardiac function based on one or more CT scans of the heart. In some medical imaging systems, the clinician reviews all series within a study to determine the series that is best suited for the particular application or protocol to be performed. After finding an appropriate series, the clinician then runs the desired application. This can be a cumbersome process, especially if a study includes a substantial number of series. In addition, the clinician may select a series that is less than optimal for a particular application, or the optimal volume may span across multiple different series.